The Ocean's Secrets
by Opal Irises
Summary: Companion piece to Ocean. Happier in death then she had ever been in life. Her body was removed. But her soul remained in the ocean, forever intertwined in Seth Cohen’s arms... [SethSummer]


**Disclaimer – I don't own the OC, Seth or Summer. **

**A/N – Wow! People actually like "Ocean". I'm so happy, thank you everyone who reviewed! This is the companion piece to "Ocean". I think that it's even more confusing. It's slightly supernatural as well, a bit at the end. **

**---------------**

After he left, the ocean took a different meaning to her.

It was darker then ever. Not just below, but on the top as well. The sun no longer shone on it.

She loved the ocean.

But she loved him more.

**-----------------**

"**Ring, ring"**

It had been ringing forever. Summer groaned and rolled over in bed. It just wouldn't stop until she picked it up.

"Hello." She asked, praying it wouldn't be him.

It wasn't.

"Summer."

It was Kirsten. Her voice sounded strange. What was his mum doing calling her? Had...Had he come back? Dare she hope for so much?

"Kirsten? What's wrong?"

"Summer." She said again. Then it hit Summer as to why her voice sounded strange. She was crying. Her heart sank as she realised that whatever Kirsten was about to tell her, it wasn't good.

"Kirsten? W-What's wrong? Hello?"

"Summer..." Kirsten said. "It's...It's Seth."

Summer felt her body tense. "W-what happened?" she asked nervously.

"He...There was an accident Summer." Said Kirsten. "On his boat. In the ocean..."

"Is he OK?" asked Summer.

There was a silence at the other end of the line, and Summer could hear Kirsten struggling to contain her tears. "He didn't make it." She whispered, so quietly, as if she almost didn't want to say it out loud for fear that it was only a dream. She couldn't make it real.

"He's dead..." whispered Summer, not to Kirsten, but to herself. A wave of ice washed over her body as soon as she said the words, and she felt as if she had been tossed between the waves of the sea. She gasped for breath. She was drowning...

"Summer..." said Kirsten softly. "The...funeral. It's this Saturday."

"OK." Whispered Summer. She didn't know what else to say.

"You will come, won't you?"

"Of...of course." Summer stuttered. "I...I wouldn't miss it."

The other line went silent for a moment.

"Thank you, sweetie."

**-----------------**

"Seth." Whispered Summer, standing limply by the coffin. He looked so peaceful...his dark, curly hair was neat, his complexion still managed to be smooth, and he even looked like he was smiling a bit.

Death looked nice.

"Damn you, Cohen." She said softly. "It's just like you...You can make even death look peaceful."

He was dead. Everyone around her was crying. Kirsten was sobbing onto Sandy's shoulder, and he had his arm around her, hardly bothering to hide his own tears. Ryan was crying while he was hugging Marissa, and Summer saw the twinkling liquid drip down her cheeks as she went to kiss him.

She had cried when he had left at first. She had cried when she had read the note, and she had cried for days after. She had cried then, because she thought that eventually, he would come back, so it was OK to cry.

It wasn't OK to cry now that he was dead.

He was dead.

He was dead, and no amount of tears could bring him back.

"Why did you have to leave me, Seth?" she whispered, softly running her fingers through his dark hair.

She was still underwater, and she was gasping for air. Her limp body was being tossed through the harsh, cold waves, crystal water washing over her. She was drowning. She was still drowning, and she couldn't find her way back to surface...

Her throat felt swollen, and her eyes were hot. Tears finally fell.

She only ever let herself cry if she was underwater.

She was drowning now. So she could cry.

**-------------**

She couldn't sleep after that. Not after she had seen him...dead. Dead...but so...

Happy.

Images of him spun around in her mind, an endless spiral of him, caught in her restless whirlpool.

She would close her eyes, and instantly, waves came crashing down on her. Her mind had become an eternal cave, the water was just waiting to come and suck her down.

Among it all, his face flashed at her.

He was happy. He was happy in the ocean.

He wanted her to join him.

**--------------**

She ran desperately onto the beach and collapsed onto the sand. She drew in a few deep, shaky breath's, her whole body shuddering as she let the air out.

She had felt herself drowning ever since Kirsten had told her. Ever since she had said those words... _"He didn't make it...". _As soon as the words washed over her mind, the water followed. And it had been with her ever since; she couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, and she couldn't sleep, for fear that she would stop breathing while she slept, and the waves would completely wash over her and kill her. She wasn't ready to die.

Not until she had seen his face.

And now, she knew it. As she looked out on the ocean late that night, she knew. The ocean was sparkling again...The deep blue streaked with silver rays of moonlight, and there were no waves. It was calm, it was perfect.

Tonight, thought Summer.

Tonight, the ocean would be the perfect place to die.

**-------------**

It was cold when she first stepped in. She shivered as soon as the freezing water hit her feet, washing the wet sand between her toes. But she just kept walking, and eventually, she was so numb that she couldn't feel the cold. She waded out until she couldn't feel the bottom anymore. She kicked her legs feebly for a few minutes, her mind still swirling. The water felt heavy around her...her thick clothes were dragging her down even further. She'd have to cave in eventually. For a few more seconds, she stayed afloat, before she realised it was useless. She was only putting it off. It was now or never...she looked around. Now was a nice time. Now was perfect...She took a deep breath...and ducked under water.

She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times.

This was a side of the ocean she had never seen before...this was dark, this was sinister. She floated on the top of the water, longing to go down deeper, to where she couldn't see, to the depths of the world's deepest and darkest secrets. Already she was starting to lose breath. _"Don't back out now..." _her mind told her. Just a bit longer...a little while longer. The darkness was starting to get clearer. It was odd, she thought, because wasn't it supposed to get darker? To spin and black out before she went? Maybe she was closer to death this time. She was half dead already...without him, her body was an empty shell, a shadow of what her life once was, a useless echo. The only part of her that was still living was her psychical form.

"_We can fix that now, can't we?" _her mind asked her.

Even clearer now. The water was no longer navy blue...it was a clear crystal. She still couldn't see down further though. She wanted to drag herself down further, to see who else was resting down there. She wondered if they like it.

"_Just a little bit longer! Just a little bit!" _her mind was screaming at her now. This was the point where she usually backed out, returned to the air, sucking the sweet oxygen into her lungs. Oxygen was bitter now. She wanted the water.

Usually her parents voice would come now. And she wouldn't be able to handle it. Where were they now? Was she past the voices? No...There was something, screaming in the back of her head. It wasn't her parents voices...it wasn't her voice. It was Seth's.

"_I love you, Summer."_

"_It's always been you."_

"_I've been in love with you since third grade Summer, how can I stop?"_

"_I'll never leave you."_

Bullshit.

He had left her, and now he was gone. So she had to find him...she was suddenly reminded of his face, his cold...dead. Face. His body was on the land. His soul was in the ocean. Maybe someone would find her body, and bring her back to the surface. It'd be to late, but at least they tried. She mused it over. Would anyone miss her? Marissa, probably. She thought about her dad...he was never around for her. It was his fault that she played this fucking game. Why would he care? She hoped he didn't. Seth's parents...Sandy, Kirsten. They might care. She felt bad, doing this to them, so soon after they had lost their son. She should have explained it to them...maybe written them a note. So they could have known that she did it for their son, for Seth. Because he was alone in the cold ocean, he needed her to take care of her.

"_I'm coming, Seth," _she whispered.

Hey. This was far longer then she had ever spent under before. Shouldn't she be gone by now? She couldn't feel anything...only numbness. Maybe she was gone, and she just hadn't felt it. If so, where was Seth? No, he wasn't here. So she was still alive. She was treading on the thin line that stood between life and death. One toe over, and she would slip; she would fall, drown and never hit the bottom.

His voice was starting to disappear. She didn't want it to. She wanted it to come back, so she could hear it, he gave her strength. That was how much she needed him. She needed him so much, she needed him to help her die.

"_My name is Summer." _She whispered to herself. _"Summer like the season. I am supposed to be warm, beautiful and full of life. I'm not. I'm cold, I'm ugly. And now I'm dead. I should be Winter. But my name is Summer." _She paused. _"I love Seth Cohen."_

She thought that that was when it happened. No one could be sure...but the minute the words had left her mouth, it all...ended. The numbness wasn't even there anymore. She was...she was floating, best as she could describe it. She floated down, further and further into the ocean's deep and dark caverns. She could see people...not him. Further and further down. Still no sign of him. Where was he? Why wasn't he there to greet her.

No...Wait. There he was. In the smallest grotto, on the sea floor. She floated over to him, she wrapped her arm's around his body in a warm embrace. Her body wasn't cold anymore, and neither was his. They were warm, now they were together.

They said no words. They both knew it. The curled up in the furthest corner of the cave, arms wrapped around each other, so they would never let go. At that moment, Summer was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She belonged to the sea, she belonged to him.

Only a week after, Summer Robert's body was found at the bottom of the ocean. Curled up in a corner, lost to all the world. "She looks happy," one diver remarked. "Don't be stupid." Another one said. "She's dead."

She was dead. Happier in death then she had ever been in life. Her body was removed. But her soul remained in the ocean, forever intertwined in Seth Cohen's arms, their hearts still beating together, even in death.

They lay there forever. They were the secrets of the ocean.


End file.
